Mtachine formolding lath-boabds



G. H. ELLIS.

MACHINE FOR MOLDING LATH BOARDS.

APPLICATION FILED JULYZB, 1919.

Pateted June 22, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

my@ WQ Si G. H. ELLIS.

MACHINE FOR MOLDING LATH BOARDS.

APPLlcATxoN Hummm/28,1919.

1 ,343 ,909. Patented June 22, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

G. H. ELLIS.

' MACHINE FOR MOLDING LATH BOARDS.

A P P L I C A T l 0 N F I L E D l U L Y 2 8 l 9 l 9.

Patented June 22, 1920.

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y Illl D A E ffii/M02' N 1% El? "17330/0295 www@ G. H. ELLIS.

MACHINE FOR MOLDING LATH BOARDS. APPLICATION FILED IuIIrzs,l 1919.

1,348,909, Patented June 22, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED.)STATES OFFICE eEonG-nHQELL'Is, or-fs'r. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

i 0 all whom'imag/concern.' Be' it known tliat"I,1GnonGE.H. ELLIS `a citizen ofv the United States, residingat` St.j Paul, inv the' county of 'l Ramsey and= State of Minnesota, have invented `certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Molding Lath-Boards; and l"y do hereby declare the following tobe a full,clearfandexact description ofthe invention, such asfwill'; i

ing mold-surface is preferably a drum mounted to`- rotate on lal horizontal axis. This drum, herein'fdesignated asanentirety enable others skilled in the art to 'Which itk appertains to make and use the san-1e.

My invention relates particularly to means ior producing commercially `andeeonomicallyy a so-called insulating plaster board disclosed'and claimed 'inf my pending application for Letters Paten-t jof the United States, S. N. 265,355, filed of date December 5, 1918,' butthe 4invention is, nevertheless, capable of much more extensive use forfvav rious'simil-ar'or analogous purposes.

The invention'inyolves a `novel process or method and a'novel macli-ine,whereby the chine, with some parts broken away somev partssectioned;

FigfS is a detail taken approiimatelyfon 4the irregulargline 3--3 of Fig. fl, some parts being brokenA away; f Fig. i is a vertical section, insection on the line l1-4L of Fig. l, the parts being on "a larger sea/lle than' in Fig. 1, and some parts being broken away; l' l Fig. 5 isla frz'igmentary detail; withsome parts sectioned on the -line 5.5 of'gvFig. 2; Fig. 6 is a vertical sectiongtaken on the line (i-Gof Fig. 1; and` Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section'ywith parts broken away and' with parte sectioned on various different linesfan'd r1kllustrati'ng the relation between the drum, `the mold bars,

the. suction manifold and certain rother parts.

As highly important eatureorlthis inventioml provide an endless traveling moldl surface `which vincludes slidablewmold elements or core barsf E This mold surface isg` adaptedto lforni -inoldable material, such as in horiZonta] section t l I jiiiAcHInEf roi; "nomme Lern-BOARDS..

l .lspecicaltion ,etLetters,Patent.` Jun 22 kl'hlsnation filed-Junta w19-.semi No. 313,ss4. y f

f Wood pulp, paper pulp, or other fibrous more orless digested insulating material intoy the form of sheets or boards having grooves therein'adapted to interlock with plasten "Amaterial of this kind is dis-` closed in `my `application above identified,

being; therein designated as an Insulating 111th f boardn .The means for carrying the'endless tmVeL by the numeral-8, is secured on a shaft 9 i journaled in a framework made up of laterally spacedframes 10, 11 and 12, rigidly tied' together by suitable tie bars 13, which y latter,A as shown, are of `angle iron form'.

handY ends (see Fig. 4L), and, at their lefthand, ends,open into ports 16 inthe leftliand side plates of the drum. Here itV should be noted that the ports llare inconstant or nearlyl constant communication -with one or the otherof ports 17=formed 1n an annular socalled suction manifold 18,

' throughout more than one-halfl the rotation of the drum. The drum ,rotates in the direction of the arrows, marked on Figs. 2 and 6, and the ports 17 extend approxi# mately'lrom the point marked A to the point markedf Br on F ig.`2. Said ports 17 arepomitted in the manifold from the said point B to the point A. y l

Thefcore bars 19 are disposed parallel to the axis ofr4 the drum and their liangedbases are mountedto slide 'in' grooves VJformed in thel Webs' of the cylinder 14* between the channels 15.

19 are'lformedV with dOVe-ta-iled'flanges 19r that are adapted to :form dove-tailed grooves At their outer edges, core bars inthe body of 'the lath board, as Will presently appear. `The said core bars, at their ri htfhand ends,pioject through the'rim of theright-hand `plate rof the drum 8, and

their outer ends are connected, preferably by pivots 20 to cross-heads 21. These crossheads 21 are preferablyT-shapedin cross section and have vinterlocking sliding engagement with correspondingly formed guide'channels 22 formed inthe periphery offasupplemental drum 23,y which latter is,A

secured to the mainy drum S and to the drum sha'ftf9l.- Guide channels .22 are, of course,

parallel' to the axis of` the drum shaft and* are circumferentially spaced to correspond to the spacing of the core'bars.

Each cross-head 21 has a radially pro-- jecting stud 24 equipped with a roller 25. The cross-head rollers 25 are arranged to be engaged by two spiral cams, in the form of curved bars 26 and` 27, rigidly attached to and supported by the frame 11 and certain of the cross tie bars 13. By reference to Fig. 1, it will be noted that the two cam bars 26 and 27 have reverse spiral trend. That is the one is like a right-hand thread and the other is like a leftehand thread, and each extends through considerably less than 180 degrees. Also, it will be noted that the left-hand end of the cam bar 27 projects toward the left considerably farther than the left-hand end of the cam bar 26, while the right-hand end of the cam bar 26 projects toward the right considerably farther than the right-hand end of the cam bar 27. The exact arrangement of these cam bars will more fully appear from the description of the operation. Y

The above described manifold 18 has a pipe-receiving boss 28 (see Fig. 2), that is adapted to be connected to any suitable means for producing a suction or partial vacuum in the said manifold. As shown, it

is thus connected tothe suction tube 29 of a vacuum pump 30. This vacuum pump is diagrammatically indicated on a very greatly decreased scale in Fig. 2.

To provide a perforate bottom for the endless mold surface of the drum, I provide perforate or reticulate surface plates 31, which fit between the core bars 19 just inward of their groove-forming outer edge flanges, 19a. To support the perforate surface plates 31 and to adapt them to withstand the molding pressure, I provide grate sections 32, and these, as shown, are rigidly but detachably clamped in workingv position by screw rods 33, that work through radial perforations in the drum cylinder 14, and have threaded engagement with sleeves 32, cast integral with the respective grate sections. The bar portions, at the edges of the grate sections 32, rest on the ribs formed between channels 15 of the drum cylinderV 14 and overlap the flanged bases of the corev bars 19, and thus afford runways for the core bars that hold the core bars firmly` are preferably provided with circumferential joint flanges 37, that lit channels in the curved under edges of said hopper plates to form nearly liquid-tight joints (see Fig. 4). The rollers 35 and 36, respectively, are provided with pliable peripheral facings 35 and 36, respectively, of rubber, felt or other suitable material. The shaft 35b of roller 35 is j ournaled in bearings 38 mounted to move in brackets 39 secured to the hopper plates 34. Coiled springs 40 re-act against the bearings 38 and set screws 41 that work through the outer portions of the brackets 39, and thus the said roller 35 is yieldingly pressed toward the drum.

The shaft 36b of the roller 36 (see Fig. 2) is journaled in bearings 42 that are free to slide downward in slots 43 formed in theV hopper plates 34, and thus the roller 35 is gravity seated against the periphery of the drum 8. i

A flexible endlesspresser, apron 44. runs over the rol-ler 35 and over a coperating roller 45. This roller 45 is journaled to bearings 46 carried by the free ends of a pair of laterally spaced parallel arms 47, which, at their lower ends, are pivoted to the hopper plates 34. The said bearings 46 are made adjustable on the arms 47 by nuts 48 that have threaded engagement with said arms. Mounted in suitable bearings on the tops of the frames 10 and 11, is a rock shaft 49 which has a pair of weighted arms 50 and a pair of upstanding shorter arms 51. The arms 51 are connected to the respective bearings 46 by links 52 that are made longitudinally adjustable, preferably by means of suitable turn-buckles. The stock or the material to be molded may be delivered to the hopper by any suitable means, such as a delivery .spout 53 leading from a Suitable source of supply.

To hold the inner face of the suction manifold 18 tightly pressed against the smooth face of the adjacent plate of the drum 8, coiled springs 54 are shown as interposed between said manifold and diametrically op` posite brackets 55 on the frame 10 (see Figs. 2 and 5).

The finished product, to-wit: the so-called lath board will be delivered onto an endless apron 56 arranged to run horizontally over suitable guiding and driving rollers 57, one of which is shown in Fig. 6. The shaft 58 of this roller 57 may be driven by any suitable means.

The drum shaft 9 is provided with a large spur gear 59 at one end, and this gear meshes with a pinion 60 on a'countershaft 61 suitably journaled in the frames 10 and 11. The shaft 61 also carries a spur gear 62 that mesheswith a pinion 63v on a drivingk shaft 64 that is journaled in suitable bearings on the frames 10,11 and 12 (see Fig. 1). Power will be transmitted to the machine through abelt, not.,slmvyvfxi,,but which will ."rngeyer e', Belley 65.1 'enf the "afines Stef-t 353i ef, the. kheprer relier Bette@ enel-eea ie y.provided ,Wiebe Spur, gear G6.,

thetitmesles withl thejlege drui geerz59, the roller 35 fisxdriven from-,the daim: -Thefteethfef the gears ,59am :6.61, ere lens eeeushete Permit- Seeh meyements ee mey; be, given te ,the Teller., 35 inife. acties on ',tlielstop, ,Here it may vbe, statedvthat the relle, Whieheefeunder. heavy Spring, Y. teneee, .Serves Het only, es e, heprer Maller,y

but as a compressing roller'to pressa-nd com- `peet thefbrous, stock, orimeldeble materiel- In 1F igf, thelibrous stock, .which maybe assumed te, be.. Pulp er. Weste palper steek, eedieatefl by` the ,Character Y, and the eem- Pleted lethbeerdis indeeted bythe eher- ,ractlerrY. 'Sog far as this invention is coneerledeleyveyer, the eteek-Ymey lee, anymateiiel4 eepeble ef' heine melde@ te, ferm l e 101e-Ster beard, er enelegeee materiel- Srplus steek. 011111111) from the herren Heey `fire lifkmi.threugh e, Setebe perte? Y Orefeeeel .The eperetienef ,thegmeehnesummarized is as ellewst- The S, ek 'deliveredJ iinte the Lhepner will be in a plasticwsemifiuid `cQIldition and y., readily, ,Smead`v itself eut, Se that ,it een be.. L formed, inte a thick sheet er ,beard l Under retetioa ,eithe drum, iaheiepery feller .36

will, tbe, dryee ley greytyamiwll,meietein such Contact with the positionedcore bars the@ the, heavy4 Steek will be 4.preyented, frere Hearing? from'. the t, hopper et @that peint Uder retetenef :the dell@ es Steted,.tewit mede may .beyered by. adjust/mente ef 'the bearingsrfi on thev arms 17, which,adjust-y mente .eet the fellerA 45 eleselate er' farther freni the upper, meld. Surfeee efe-theerrentv.k 8se es te thereby yerytwhetleeybeteeetedie as4 the. meutli Opening leading .te theeem-e the., .enreeieef pressing device made up of androller. f

AS the Steek peSSesuuder-Qthe.aerea/14,

itis subjected to an increasing pressure, and, as itl passes under the roller 35, it is subjected to the final and maximurriprssure, and is given its final form. v

Those core bars 19 tluitare iqnkthegupper portion of the drum and between the points' of contact between the drum andthe rollers 36 and 35 Will be forced into the drum and Will extend completely across the bottom of the hopper, so that their exposed groovefte-.taketheeemplete ,i L feces," endllit efrfaets" fromme; `.steekQt-he orden' of betreten Softliatthe] 'fvered;Y ontothe conveyer belt' ,will

fetsie Pertieee .,19AmeybeZ embedded in` the Stoe maar@forisziteshea er terra.

peesufpoiia of, 'centree temete the drum andfifller, the, rollers .'25 offtheir p respecl'y drum, thisfcambar, actin von said rollers, willgraduallyfforceor slide the corebars tofvvard the rl sheet or board.

lThe corre bars will remain in their completely Withdrawn positions, "while: the formed sheet is moving'from the drum onto outer endof thefca'mbar 26. nder further rotationgnof thedrum, the' cam bar', actiounhfsaid` rollers', willlforce the' core bars bajcliltoworkding positions, so that they will` extend across the: bottom'ho'f. the hopper, when, alittle later, theyarev moved upward under theho per roller 36.

with; the meer Mea-hand ends of cem f bar` 27, Vand, iinfder'V further, rotation of` the I L ght,iuntil-thesaid core bars are completelvl Withdrawn lfrornithe formed'.V

recfenivings al ron or lconveyer belt 56, and,`

, shortl therea 'tei1 the rollers* of' the, said i cross-eads lwill. engagetheri h't-han'd orV n y important to` note that b v the means described the`- grooved so-'called in' the grooves thereof, ,theltunder e' lathvboard jslfirst formed on the druimstarti siL e4 of the sheet,jbutending by delivery or"V thel completeheet onboard with its'y smoothk or surface, dovvnWard` in ,ldireeteeete swltllrthe reeeiyin belt ed'iith its groove orribsuifac :ich is formed Ward. The L groved or ribbed surfacepoif the bgard or Sheetv'whenfrst deliveredfro" hence, vv d be easilybrolefor:

above lnoted.'manner,4 of delivery'.

midiheneeehegobvioas impedance@the t From the time that` the stock whichr is Ato form or hasl Aformed i "the groeved,` board or sheet," first jntatsfw'ith 'the mold surface at,

A until' it.,` passes l'fr o'rn the drum onto" the receiviylgI approximately at, B, itfis` subjectfto, `suction or partial fvacuum on; l,its

wit L:"-i`tf assistsugreat 'y gfeatergfl'i sheet) de V,1

, in.causing'thestqckH ormwof thefmold sr! sheeeleg'hey 'dreven einseeeeel face ofthe.' ruin, whi e' `tis,mov11`i`gffrom the rollerf35 onto'the yrec'lving apron.'

yThe drawings of this ap lication illustrate what I, at present, be ieve to be the` best form of automatick machine for making material of the character considered,

, W l 10,05 to, interleekwyththefplasteigtulipani); p

but it Willbe understood that the machine is capable of many modications, Within the broad scope of my invention, and-thatv many of the featuresthereof may be incorporated in hand-operated as well as powerdriven automatic machines. For example certain of the 'broad claims in this case will cover a device or hand-operated machine such as disclosed but'not claimed Iin my pending application, S. N. 265,355, filed of date December 5, 1918, Aand entitled Insulating plaster board. 1

lVhat I claim is l.. A molding device having a mold surface adapted to form a molded sheet and including' core bars that are slidable to and from working positions and in cross section having a form toiproduce plaster interlockingv groovesin the molded sheet.

2. A molding device having a mold surface adapted to form a molded sheet and including removable core bars, and means for automatically moving said`core bars to and from Working position.

3. A molding device having` a mold surface including removable core bars, said mold surfacealso having. perforatc portions betweenthe core bars.

4. A molding device having a mold sur;- face including core bars that are slidable to and from Working positions and in cross' section having a form to vproduce plaster interlocking grooves 11i the molded sheet, said mold surface also having perforate surface- 'forming sections located between the core bars below` the' thereof.

5. A molding device having a mold surface adapted to form a molded sheet and including sli'dable; cores ,for forming plaster groove-forming portions interlocking surfaces in the formed sheet in perforate"ornon-porous 'core bars and perforated surfaces between said core bars, mechanical means forV pressing theV Ystock againstsaid mold surface, rand pneumatic means for'subjectingthe'mold engaged surfacesy of the fibrous stock to partial vacuum, through said perforatedimol'ded surfaces.

8. In a machine ofthe kindl described,'an

endless traveling mold surface, slidable core bars carried by and spaced upon said mold surface, 'means for automatically sliding said core bars, mechanical means for press-` ing ibrous'stock against said/mold surface, said meid surface having'perforate surfaces between said core bars, pneumatic means for subjecting the mold-engaged surface of the fibrous stock to partial vacuum through the lpcrforations thereof, and means for moving l0. In a machine of the kind described,l

an endless traveling mold surface including slidable core bars, meansfor applying moldabl'e material to said mold surface, means for moving said mold surface, and means for autonmtically'withdrawing said mold bars from the mold material and for restoring said mold bars to working positions.

ll.. In a machine of the kind described, the combination with an endless vtraveling mold surface includingr endwisc movable groove-forming core bars, means for applying moldable stock to said mold surface at the upper portion thereof, and means for delivering the molded sheet from the bottom of said mold'surface with thc gioovcd surface thereof uppermost.

In 'a machine of the kind described, the combination with a rotary drum having a surrounding mold surface including endwise movable groove-forming core bars car` ried i by said drum, means for applying moldable material to said 'mold surface at the upper portion of said drum, and means for delivering the molded material from the bottom of said drinn with its grooved surface uppermost. Y

13. A molding device having mold surfaces adapted to form a molded sheet and including core bars that are movable to andV from Working position in respect to the sheetand Vin cross section having a form to produce plaster interlocking grooves in the molded sheet.

In testimony ivhereof I affix inysignaturc in presence of two Witnesses. l

GEORGE H. ELLIS.

lVitnesses:

CLARA DEMAnns'r, Baumer: Gr. BAUMANN. 

